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    The Ken Kessler theory

    This only really applies to the US, I believe. In most places, good HT was a passing fad, because most people have smaller rooms than you guys have. It's difficult to sell a lot of 7.1 speaker systems to people who think a 12x16 family room is 'spacious'. Certainly in most of Europe, HT is an...
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    The Ken Kessler theory

    I muscled my way on to that forum. I don't think it went as he expected it to go. Ken's basic premise is that the high-end audio world is a luxury goods market that completely fails to reach a luxury goods audience. He points to trend-bucking successes in all the other luxury goods sectors he...
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    Have We Seen the Last of Harry Pearson?

    Lorem ipsem is nonsense Latin, a bastardised passage from Cicero that has been used in place of live copy on the printed page since the 1500s. The full text reads, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut...
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    Have We Seen the Last of Harry Pearson?

    I think you might be missing the point. The first few posts on the site are garbage. More specifically, lorem ipsem placeholder text garbage.
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    Anyone into Naim gear?

    Not necessarily. They can sound awful, especially if you are used to another audio paradigm. Naim is almost the perfect antithesis to the 'absolute sound' ethos. If you are used to a system that is directed toward delivering timbral, tonal and spatial accuracy, a system that does none of that...
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    Anyone into Naim gear?

    Are you right or wrong in your beliefs? Why not put them to the sword. I know those who have been exposed to high doses of AVI have a problem with Naim Audio, so go seek out Heed Audio products instead. Try the basic Obelisk integrated and add the power supply. Or, try a Naim preamp with one of...
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    What are your goals in attending RMAF?

    The original reason for playing Tin Pan Alley was that it's well recorded... and long enough for the exhibitor to go off for a cigarette break and still come back to find the room full. The smoke break went to the big Ash Tray in the Sky, but SRV's spirit lives on.
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    Anyone into Naim gear?

    There has been a slew of new products from Naim in recent months, but none so far that have a direct 'synergy'. IMO, there doesn't seem to be much synergy between the brands sonically, especially when you get into the Utopia range. That said, Focal now has a big Naim system in one of its...
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    What are your goals in attending RMAF?

    Perhaps not at RMAF, but he's a staple in many European shows. Although recently even SRV has been passed over in favour of dinner jazz.
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    What are your goals in attending RMAF?

    I think there should be a rule in all shows. When the thin-out point happens at the end of every day and on the last day, all bets are off. The problem with the plinky-plonky dinner jazz played so extensively at shows is it does unfortunately fill rooms. I don't know why - when I've asked...
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    Anyone into Naim gear?

    I have used and am currently evaluating Naim Audio equipment. It's generally very good equipment, but distinctive. Over the years, the brand's distinctiveness has lessened (much to the chagrin of the old guard, who would like Naim equipment to be preserved in 1980s-era aspic) but there is still...
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    Britains Got Talent

    I wouldn't read too much into Christmas Number Ones. Since 1971, when 'Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)' pushed Benny Hill to the top slot, it's been an almost unbroken stream of novelty records and hugely promoted bands of the moment topping the charts over Christmas. Even the good...
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    My System Featured in Latest HiFi+ (Issue 91)

    Others generally take the pictures. Most of my photographic input is show reports and reader visits. It's also been some time since I regularly performed reader system reviews and it's easy to get out of the habit of photographing people when you spend most of your life photographing inanimate...
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    My System Featured in Latest HiFi+ (Issue 91)

    Hi there, Thanks for all the kind comments. We're mid way through a spot of migration at the moment, as The Absolute Sound's website recently broke free from the AVGuide site, which is why the Hi-Fi+ page has not been updated and why our online reviews are currently MIA. Hopefully, both of...
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    Non-audiophiles who listen to your system...Comments and experiences?

    One of the most interesting reactions recently was the civilian who came in, didn't really notice the system, but looked at all the CDs... and then looked at me as if I was some kind of throwback. "Do you... still play these things?" The idea that someone would still have a physical collection...
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    IS there an absolute sound?

    Nice idea, but prone to being shot down in flames almost immediately. Here's why: Let's say a panel of experts (both from within the industry and well-respected enthusiasts who have been around the block enough to know good from bad) pull together a system they believe represents this 'shining...
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    Audeeva Con Brio music server

    I guess the point with this is it's an experiment to see what happens if you build a computer audio platform without the constraints of price (or for that matter, sales-worthiness). Writing code is very cheap if the code ends up being bought by a million, but costs a fortune if it's just a...
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    IS there an absolute sound?

    There are four competing models for an audio system: 1. 'I don't care how it sounds, just so long as it's cheap enough' 2. 'I don't care what it does, just as long as it sounds good to me' 3. 'I want it to conform to an objective series of benchmarks' 4. 'I want it to conform to a subjective...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    I just don't think I could be that nihilistic about music. I am still deeply passionate about music and the sound it makes and I hope to continue to be so for many years to come. Yes, there are amazing things coming out of IEMs and headphones today, but there needs to be a credible alternative...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    Young people have never been that interested in high-end audio. It's the broad lack of interest in anything that doesn't fit in their pocket or their ears that should concern you long term. Why? Because a lot of what happens in a business is predicated on a lot of new people coming along and...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    You have no idea how much I agree with you on this one. We need younger writers writing about things that appeal to a younger audience. The tough part of this is the young writer will tend to adapt to the tone of the title, especially as they receive the ire of the more fusty, yet vociferous...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    The reason why you might want to care is enlightened self-interest. If there are fewer thirtysomethings buying decent audio as part of the 'settling down' process (good audio might have been an aspiration for the young of past generations, but the typical first-time buyer of good audio equipment...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    Yes, but the entry-level and mid-fi sectors are far smaller than they ever used to be, and - unless you have your own lines (as Richer Sounds has here with Cambridge Audio and Mordaunt-Short) - you simply will not be able to compete with online traders. There's no easy way out of this...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    This gets pretty ridiculous pretty fast. OK, so you choose the beer because you like it and the price is fair. Next time you choose a beer, that choice may influence you toward buying that beer again, over others that may well prove more value-driven or more suitable for your tastes. Unless...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    That's nonsense. Every industry demands your allegiance. You buy a beer. The name on the label is there to help you buy the same beer next time. Even fungible goods like rice and gasoline are given brands, and loyalty cards. Manufacturers spend a great deal of time and money trying to make...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    As someone who has campaigned - and continues to campaign - for significant attitudinal change in dealers (in the UK at least), I can only agree. Sort of. Dealers cannot be client-hostile under any circumstances. I understand the frustration of having to wrangle someone you are convinced is...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    To be honest, I think it's down to the concept of sharing a room with an amplifier that looks like it came out of a Russian submarine from the 1950s and doubles up as a radiator. However, there is a change in perception about music. Music is either a personal experience or a shared one. So it's...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    That depends on what you mean by 'good numbers'? RMAF is usually relatively well-attended (especially with the Head-Fi CanJam in attendance) and is possibly the ideal balance - not so few attendees that you feel like you're in a ghost town, not so many that you can't spend time with the people...
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    Stereophile As We See It; High-End Audio & the Invisible Hand

    I think people are looking at one big point and missing the other two important ones in JA's fine editorial - the lack of dealers and the rise of the shows to replace them. The three are intrinsically linked - fewer stores means less visibility means manufacturers spending more money on shows...
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    Hi res again?

    Up to a point, I agree. There are a lot of ping-pong surround music recordings, just as there were a lot of ping-pong stereo recordings in the early days of stereo. But a lot of the classical SACD work does just what you say - attempting to place the listener in a simulacra of the concert hall...

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